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Growing plants such as vegetables indoors often requires using a light source stronger than windows. Using grow lights enables you to grow plants even in a room without windows, such as a garage. The lights don't work alone, however. Using reflectors maximizes grow lights' effectiveness, ensuring your plants get the light they need. Which reflectors are the best depends on a few factors.

Lighting Them Up

One of the first decisions to make about your indoor plant-growing needs is the kind of light you prefer to use. Grow lights come in various types, including fluorescent, incandescent and metal halide. The best reflectors fit the size and shape of the grow lights' bulbs. Many kinds of reflectors fit several bulbs; one reflector might hold three to four fluorescent bulbs, for example. After determining the type of bulbs to use and how many bulbs your growing space requires, choose reflectors with the proper connections for your bulb types, and ensure the reflectors offer the correct number of connections for your lighting needs.

Reflecting Abilities

The best grow light reflectors are white or silver inside because those two colors tend to reflect light better than other colors. Silver colors act almost like mirrors, reflecting the most light; so reflectors that are silver inside are best for large light fixtures. Smaller light fixtures focus reflection with more intensity, and so they often work best when their interior surface is white. Increase the light-reflecting intensity of metal reflectors, such as those made of aluminum, or the intensity of white porcelain reflectors by covering their inside surface with aluminum foil, with the foil's shiny side facing outward.

Pointing in the Right Direction

Most grow light reflectors have angled sides that reflect the maximum amount of light and direct it to an area where plants can be placed. Some of the reflectors are rectangular while others resemble an umbrella shape. Whichever shape of reflectors you choose, it's best to position those reflectors and grow lights directly above your plants. That positioning helps plants grow straight and tall as they reach for the light. Reflectors' light-reflecting intensity lessens at their edges. So for the best results, choose reflectors that are slightly larger than the seed trays or plant-growing area that will be beneath them.

Keeping Cool

Grow lights emit heat, although some emit more heat than others. Fluorescent bulbs often emit smaller amounts of heat than metal halide bulbs, for example. Too much heat can harm plants, but the best grow light reflectors have features to keep them cool. Many include vents that help direct heat away from plants below the reflectors while more sophisticated reflectors have an air-cooling system that moves heated air to outside their plant-growing room.